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內容簡介

你有沒有經歷過這種情況：你滿腹牢騷，想要抱怨某件事情，卻不想讓旁人聽清楚你說的是什么？英語表達 “under one's breath” 就可以用來形容這種 “低聲嘀咕，自言自語” 的做法。聽節目，學習這個習語的用法。

文字稿

（關于臺詞的備注: 請注意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）

Neil
Welcome to Authentic Real English, with me, Neil…

Feifei
… and me, Feifei.

Neil
In this episode, we are looking at the expression: 'under your breath'. It means 'say something so quietly that no one else can hear exactly what you're saying'.

Feifei
我們用 “under your breath” 來描述一個人 “低聲抱怨，小聲嘀咕”。這個表達中的 “your” 可以用 “my、his、her” 等物主代詞來替換。“Under your breath” 可以與動詞 “talk” 搭配使用 —— “talk under your breath”。我們 “talk under our breath” 的原因經常是想讓別人知道我們對某事感到不滿，但又不想讓人聽清自己到底說了什么。

Neil
Yes, and it can be a quite unpleasant or nasty situation. We could be saying negative things about someone, and we don't want them to hear exactly what we're saying.

Feifei
沒錯。比如：昨晚我和佳瑩一起看了一部很糟糕的電影。我想表現出來自己不太高興，但又不想讓她知道我的確切想法，所以我說 “I hate this film” under my breath.

Neil
While we often use it for complaints or negative comments, sometimes we can use it to describe when we talk to ourselves directly.

Feifei
Yes. 我們還可以用 “under my breath” 來為自己加油打氣。比如：昨天，我和 Rob 打了一局乒乓球。比賽前，我小聲說了 “I'm going to beat you” under my breath.

Neil
Exactly! Let's hear some examples before we talk more about this idiom…

Examples
He always says things under his breath about the work and tasks he's given. I'm not sure what his problem is.

Bruce told himself under his breath that he would not come back to the restaurant again. He hated it.

She said something under her breath, but I couldn't quite hear it! She looked angry though.

Feifei
你正在收聽的是 BBC英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。以上我們學習了表達 “under your breath” 的用法。它的意思是 “輕聲說話，小聲嘀咕”，這樣做的原因可能是表現自己的不滿，也可能是為自己加油打氣。

Neil
We often use it with verbs of speech, so, for example 'I said something under my breath'. We sometimes use it with the verb 'mutter', which has a similar meaning: 'speak quietly in a way that's not easy to hear' and is often used to talk about someone complaining.

Feifei
Yes. 'Mutter something under your breath'. 記住，由于 “under your breath” 是一句習語，要注意使用的場合。

Neil
The next time you hear someone complaining, but you can't understand everything they're saying, you now know an idiom you can use.

Feifei
They are 'speaking under their breath'. Join us again to learn more common English expressions. Thank you, bye.

Neil
Bye.